The Cult’s Conscience: Mid-Western Assassin

This episode was edited and cut, confirmed by FX, due to the tragic Las Vegas shootings.

“Mid-Western Assassin” starts with a crowd being shot, ending in a scene that alluded to Ally being the possible shooter. As we flashback to where this story actually begins, Ally is calling Dr. Rudy Vincent to inform him about the cult Meadow revealed to her. Unfortunately for Ally, she is not aware of Vincent’s relation to Kai Anderson. However, Ally begins to catch on after noticing the manner in which Vincent responds to her concern.

Vincent may even be a victim here. I began to suspect his involvement in the cult within the opening episodes and then his relationship to Kai as brothers was revealed. Although they are family, Vincent is extremely hands off in whatever role he is expected to perform. This leads me to wonder if Vincent will eventually turn to free himself of this burden.

Ally decides to venture back to Harrison’s house to save Meadow and is narrowly successful in her efforts. They decide to take cover at The Butchery on Main (not sure if this was the right move now that they both know Ivy is a part of the cult as well,) and Ally proceeds to interrogate Meadow about Kai’s following. Meadow reveals to us that she left the cult once Ivy joined, due to her love for Kai being compromised. Although somewhat believable, something just didn’t seem right. We also find out later that the true reason Ivy joined the cult stemmed from her hate towards Ally for being able to carry Oz in the womb instead of herself. When Ally casted her vote for Green Party candidate Jill Stein in the 2016 election, it was the last straw.

Speaking of Oz, where has the kid gone as the cult unfolds? Something is brewing with this child, and I have thought so since the beginning. American Horror Story: Cult is drawing focus to other areas and will come back with guaranteed plot twists. In my opinion, Oz is not the only one brewing either, but we’ll get to Beverly Hope later.

Just as Kai’s race for the vacant city council seat seemed over, a woman by the name of Sally Keffler decide to announce her candidacy for the position. Ally later approaches Sally to bring Kai’s cult to her attention. Sally immediate believed Ally and this led me to think something in the episode was about to shift. However, this was quickly debunked.

Our beloved clowns arrive at Sally’s residence and take her hostage with Kai revealing himself. Kai writes a Facebook post under Sally’s profile explaining why she might have committed suicide and proceeded to rid himself of competition. Ally hid while this scene played out; she was ultimately discovered by Ivy but was left unscathed.

Okay, it’s true. In the end, we find out Kai had a campaign rally and was shot during a mass murder scene. Not by Ally, but by Meadow. “This is the face of true love,” Meadow told Ally prior to ending her own life.

Why? Not because of her disgust of Kai for letting her leave. It was all a part of her plan, and I have no idea how I did not see this coming. Kai knew the love that Meadow had for him and requested that Meadow attempt an assassination. He felt as if a resurrection story, as in him being shot and recovering, would ensure him a path to victory. Meadow optimized a cult follower’s mentality and illustrated Kai’s true power.

With that said, I’m not sure if this power struggle is over quite yet. With Oz and Dr. Rudy Vincent looming in the background, we have forgotten about the anger and thirst for power that resides in Beverly Hope. I alluded to the possibility of Hope making an attempt to take control of Kai’s following after a scene a previous episode, and this week’s preview may confirm this idea.

In a snippet of episode seven via the American Horror Story twitter page (@AHSFX), Beverly Hope states, “We need new blood. Men always push the women aside.” It’s possible she is recruiting Winter and Ivy to break away from Kai’s hold, or maybe she reaches to an outside source.

Tune into American Horror Story: Cult on Tuesday at 9 p.m. CT, only on FX.